Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter ten of "Into the Shadows." It has some Edward/Bella in it. Charlie is introduced in this one. Mike will return in the next chapter or so. Stay tuned for chapter eleven.
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Chapter 10: Relaxing
Edward and Bella were watching Terminator 2: Judgement Day while sitting on the Swan residence's living room couch an hour later. She had a coffee-filled mug in her hand. She took a small sip of it and sighed in much content. The scene where John sped off on his bike with the T-1000 chasing him came on. He raised his eyebrows.
"There is nothing better than watching a movie and having a cup of coffee alongside your vampire boyfriend," Bella said gleefully.
"I wish I could drink coffee like I used to when I was human," Edward admitted with a frown. "I enjoyed putting sugar in mine."
"I enjoy putting sugar in my coffee too," Bella commented and suppressed a small yawn. "I never have sugary cereal for breakfast. I usually have bacon and eggs."
"I had bacon and eggs for breakfast when I was human too," Edward said with a nod. "Whole grain cereal is just as good for humans."
Bella giggled to herself. "Yep, yep, yep."
"Great, Ducky," Edward responded and winked at her.
"You make a better Ducky," Bella said and spoke gibberish.
Edward laughed while pointing his finger at her. "Yep, yep, yep."
Bella ruffled her boyfriend's hair. She tapped his cheek with and made funny noises. He swatted her hand aside with a playful growl. She drank more of her coffee before placing it on the coffee table. They shifted their attention toward the TV.
"This movie definitely blows The Terminator out of the water," Bella said.
"Yep. The special effects are far superior. I say the coolest one is the T-1000 going right through metal bars," Edward said, sweeping his hand against the other. He moved it out in front of him.
"The only thing that could accomplish such a feat is a computer," Bella murmured in great awe.
"Yeah," Edward agreed as they looked at each other. "The composite looked exactly like Robert Patrick. He appeared to be normal until he went through the bars." He laid his hands in his lap.
"Talk about impressive. It makes me wonder how much computer graphics will evolve in the future," Bella said with much curiosity.
Edward laughed excitedly. "The possibilities of what graphics artists could come up with is bound to be endless."
"I know one thing. Computer generated imagery will likely eliminate very dangerous traditional special effects," Bella pointed out.
"One of them is fiery explosions," Trini answered and imitated the sound of an explosion.
Edward nodded. "Yep."
Edward and Bella looked toward the TV. They observed John jumping his bike into the street after he escaped the parking garage. The T-1000 leapt out and continued chasing him.
"I watched special effects evolve throughout my existence. For example, I went from seeing a spinning sock posing as a tornado in The Wizard of Oz to CGI for it in Twister. This was all in a span of less than sixty years," he explained.
"Stop motion animation started in 1898," she pointed out.
"I remember seeing King Kong in 1933. I was fascinated by the stop motion animation of the ape and the dinosaurs. Film crews did not have a whole lot to work with back then. They had to make due with what they had. In most cases, the practical effects and stop motion animation worked," Edward commented.
"If you want to see an example of updated stop motion animation, look no further than Robocop 2. RoboCain was creepy as shit with how he moved," Bella murmured with a wince.
"I just might consider seeing that movie," Edward said honestly. "I saw the first Robocop. It was an excellent movie full of satire about American consumerism and violence."
"That movie came out the year I was born. I did not see it until I was eight years old," Bella said and ran her tongue all over the inside of her mouth. "My parents never had a problem with me watching violent movies. They talked to me about them."
Edward ran his fingers through Bella's hair three times. He took her hand into his before clearing his throat. She shifted her position on the couch a bit and suppressed a yawn.
"I did not see The Terminator until after the second movie came out," Bella said truthfully. "People have looked at me weird when I told them I saw the second movie before the first one."
"You were not even born when the first movie came out," Edward grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
"Even if I had been born in 1984, do you think my parents would have taken an infant to see an R-rated movie? I do not think so. They would have left me with a babysitter, so they could go see it," Bella explained.
"It's called good parenting. Some parents take their kids to movies knowing they are violent. Then they blame the movies for their acting out," Edward grumbled, hints of anger showing in his voice.
"It's crazy. Those parents think everyone and everything are to blame for their kids' bratty behavior. It's their fault. I think a license for parenting should be required. So many people would be denied one because they'd make lousy parents," Bella said bluntly.
"That's right," Edward agreed. "You once told me about the time you and Charlie went out for breakfast at McDonald's"
She scoffed irritatingly while curling her hand into a fist. "Yeah. Two girls kept hitting us upside our heads while we were trying to eat our egg-and-cheese biscuits. Their parents did nothing to stop them. In fact, they laughed. They thought it was cute."
"That is not cute. That is rude. No one has the right to interrupt another person's meal," Edward growled in fierceness. "They can't expect someone to ignore such blatant disrespect, especially when it comes to kids."
"Unfortunately, many kids never learned about good manners. Nor did they learn about responsibility and hard work," Bella mumbled while shaking her head in disbelief. "They expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter."
"They are destined for disappointment when they learn the world doesn't revolve around them," Edward said matter-of-factly. "I can imagine a fifty-year-old person throwing a temper tantrum because they were denied something they wanted."
"I can too," Bella said honestly. "While young people can be quite rude, old people can be just as bad. You and I have seen elderly people throwing huge fits when they learned they couldn't use expired coupons."
"It makes me want to yell in their faces over their rudeness. Then again, they would likely claim their age gives them a free pass to act like that," Edward commented.
"It is disgusting," Bella mumbled with a loud shudder. "No one should have a free pass for bad behavior, no matter what their age is. When older people act out, it teaches younger people it is okay to be that way. The young mimic the old."
He snorted. "One thing is clear. Spoiled and selfish people are destined for loneliness. They will burn bridges until there are none left. They will die old and alone. They may have people who take care of them in their final years, but they never form any real attachments to them. Even if they do, the attachments can become severed quickly by just a few words. These words are hurtful. The brats have no conscience."
The couple narrowed their eyes at the TV as John came to a stop after going through the tunnel. They watched him look around before settling his eyes on the bridge. The T-1000 drove the truck off it. John sped off with him in pursuit.
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Bella stood before the kitchen stove in the early evening. She kept her eye on two burgers that were cooking in a skillet on the left front burner. She listened to their sizzling. She grabbed the spatula from the counter and lifted the first burger. She saw its side was not darkened enough yet. She found the same with the second one. She laid the spatula aside before emitting a soft snort.
She sighed contently. She could not forget the quickie she and Edward had on the couch before he left nearly two hours ago. She found it incredible. She wanted to have another, but he told her he needed to get home. He revealed he would see her late tonight. She was grateful for his nighttime visits, especially when she was unable to sleep.
Her thought shifted to Charlie. She had a feeling he had not come any closer to solving the cases of the missing and murdered campers. She wondered if the real killers were vampires and not bears as it had been suspected. She knew bears would not attack unless they were provoked. This was especially true for mother bears protecting their cubs. After all, a mother protecting her young was the most dangerous creature on Earth.
Bella snapped out of her thoughts when the front door unlocked. She looked toward the living room to see it opening. Charlie walked in, closing it behind him. He locked it while suppressing a yawn. He stretched his arms above his head. She smiled as he came into the kitchen. He stopped before her as he formed a smile on his face.
"Hey, Bells," he greeted.
"Hey yourself, Dad," she responded. "Are you getting any closer to solving the case of the missing and murdered campers?"
"Unfortunately, no," Charlie admitted in a grim way. He noticed pieces of her hair were sticking out from the sides. "You have been fooling around with Edward, huh?"
"How did you—" Bella started shockingly.
"Your hair is a little messed up," Charlie said, pointing his finger at the strands. He chuckled as she ran her fingers over it to straighten it. "You remind me of your mom and me. We fooled around a lot."
"I have no doubt your parents were not thrilled with it," Bella commented with a raised eyebrow.
"They were not. They believed sex was reserved for marriage," Charlie responded, giving a shrug. "The thing is humans have been having premarital sex since the dawn of our history."
"So true," Bella agreed.
"Since you have already…done it with him, just be sure you are careful," Charlie said in a low but firm manner.
"I will, Dad," Bella assured with a nod. "I will."
Charlie unbuckled his holster and took it off. He laid it on the counter next to the refrigerator. He grabbed the gun and took out the bullet magazine. Bella couldn't help but smile.
"I like how responsible you are with your weapons, Dad," Bella said, warmth echoing from her voice.
"Kids may not visit this house often, but it pays not to take any chances," Charlie replied while slipping the magazine into his pocket. "If adults were more responsible with their guns, we wouldn't have all these shooting accidents involving kids."
"In some states, you can be charged with neglect if a child shoots himself or someone else while playing with a gun," Bella pointed out matter-of-factly. "If you can't be responsible with guns, then you shouldn't own any. With any right comes responsibility."
"The same can be said for superpowers. I know people who would use them irresponsibly if they had them," Charlie commented and shuddered badly.
She huffed. "I do too."
"In Power Rangers, Zordon told his Rangers to never use their powers for personal gain. What he meant by that was reaping gifts the populace would be bestow if they knew the team's identities," Charlie explained.
"I wouldn't want stupid gifts. I would rather use superpowers to protect the populace from danger," Bella said.
He smiled. "I would too."
Bella turned back to the burgers. She picked up the spatula and checked the inside of the first burger. She found it was dark to her liking and flipped it over. She repeated her actions with the second burger. She tapped the spatula on the skillet four times.
"Dad, have you ever accidentally burned food while cooking it?" she asked curiously.
"Several times," he admitted. "I burned an entire pizza once. I put it in the oven and went to the living room to watch a baseball game. I became engrossed in it. After a homerun from a Seattle Mariners player, I realized I had not checked on the pizza at all. I rushed into the kitchen and found the pizza was very brown. I kicked myself in the foot over it."
"You're not alone in the least bit," Bella said. "I've burned food several times myself."
"You know what they say. There is a first time for everything," Charlie commented with raised eyebrows.
"Exactly," Bella agreed while nodding slowly. "Something does not have to be on fire in order to burn."
"I remember reading a story about a man who burned a pizza. He actually did not leave it unattended for long at all. When he went to check on it, he found it was burned. He was confused by this. Then he checked the calibration. It needed to be replaced. He got it replaced," Charlie said, smiling warmly. "He was able to cook food in the oven again."
"Sometimes, the simplest solutions are right there," Bella said and cleared her throat.
He nodded in agreement as he laid the gun on the counter. He went over to the refrigerator and opened it. He reached in to pull out a coke. He returned to her as he opened it. He took a long sip.
"When will the burgers be ready?" Charlie asked.
"They should be ready very soon," Bella answered as she turned down the burner a little bit.
"Remember I want two slices of Velveeta cheese on mine," Charlie said, winking at her.
"I know," Bella said, giggling to herself. "I like how Velveeta cheese melts faster than regular cheese does."
"I like how it is gooier than the regular stuff it," Charlie commented and sipped his coke. "It is even better when it is shredded and melted on top of taco-seasoned meat."
"Mom, Phil, and I had tacos just before I came to Forks. I put a little too much taco seasoning mix in a few areas of the meat. It was a bit spicy. However, adding mild taco sauce counteracted it," Bella said with pride.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Don't get too prideful, Bells. It will bite you on the butt."
Bella smirked. "I want it to bite me on the butt. I do not mind."
"Okay," Charlie said and made a funny noise. "Anyway, I want you to know that you can come to me if you need to talk about something serious."
"I know," Bella answered and sighed softly. "Many parents do not even try to talk to their kids about serious subjects. They expect them to figure things out on their own."
"That is not helpful at all," Charlie said, rolling his eyes.
She breathed deeply. "One thing is clear. Those kids are destined for trouble."
Charlie sipped more of his coke. He proceeded to tell Bella about the time he played a prank on Renee.
